Transcript Plant and Animal Relationships Plants and their

The Plant Kingdom
Animal Pollinators
Plant and Animal Relationships
(Part 1)
Living on Planet Earth
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Plant and Animal Relationships
Plants have a number of
methods of reproducing.
Vegetative reproduction
is when a piece of the
plant breaks off and starts
a new shoot, or when
roots and bulbs send up
new growth.
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Plant and Animal Relationships
Pollination occurs when
pollen enters the stamen
of a flower and starts to
grow seeds. Cross
pollination is the mixing
of genetic material from
two plants resulting in
the creation of seeds
having characteristics of
both parents.
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Plant and Animal Relationships
Cross pollination helps a plant species adapt to changes
in the environment because the new plant has unique
characteristics that might help the species survive. The
pollinators include wind, water and animals.
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Plant and Animal Relationships
Plants and their animal pollinators are very dependent
upon each other. Animals benefit from the food plants
provide, and plants often need the help of animals to
pollinate and spread their seeds.
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Animal Pollinators
Animals are attracted to
specific plants species or
types of flowers. Some like
the size and shape of a
plant’s petals and leaves.
Others like the scent of the
flower or the taste of its
nectar.
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Animal Pollinators
Some flowers are close to the ground and attract a
variety of animals. Those high up draw the attention
of flying insects or birds.
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Animal Pollinators
An animal visits a plant
expecting to get a meal or
to lay its eggs. It delivers
pollen to the next flower,
helping to produce future
generations of plants and
food that will benefit its
own kind.
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Animal Pollinators
Some flowers give off a
stinky odor of rotted
meat or dung. Beetles,
not having good vision,
approach the plant
expecting to lay their
eggs.
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Animal Pollinators
Most flies compete with
beetles. They have short
tongues and take nectar
and pollen from small
open flowers. Bees and
wasps compete with
beetles and small flies for
pollen & nectar.
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Animal Pollinators
Moths are active at night, and butterflies during the day.
They have long tongues that go deep into tubes or nectar
spurs. They are attracted to sweet and pleasant flower
fragrances.
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Animal Pollinators
Bats are attracted to the musky and sweet
scents of nectar and pollen being produced
by the flowers at night.
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Animal Pollinators
Ants find it hard to resist
nectar and other sugary
substances. Some plants
specialize in attracting ants.
They provide chambers in
the stems and leaves where
ants build their nests. The
ants supply nutrients to the
plants as they drag in soil
and leave behind their
waste.
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Animal Pollinators
The majority of bird pollinators are hummingbirds.
They eat flower nectar for energy and insects for
protein. Bird flowers are mostly large and shaped like
tubes to hold large amounts of nectar.
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Animal Pollinators
Birds are attracted to the
red and yellow colors as
most of these flowers are
scentless. Hawaiian
bellflowers are pollinated
by honey creepers, birds
with long curved beaks
that match the shape of
the flower blossom.
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Animal Pollinators
Many other animals
accidentally transport pollen
as they go about their daily
activities. Those animals, able
to move greater distances in
shorter periods of time, play
an important role in the
balance of nature.
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Seed Transporters
Seeds are transported far from the parent plant by
animals. Many seeds have spurs and sticky coats. They
cling to bird feathers and animal hair. Most important
are the eaten seeds. Some seeds have a hard or oily
surface that resists digestive juices.
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Seed Transporters
These same seeds are found to have a higher rate of
germination when they are excreted at the animal’s new
location. Some even begin the process of germination as
they are passing through the intestines of a large animal.
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Plant and Animal Pollinators
Plant and animal species have adapted to
assist one and other in a variety of ways.
These cooperative efforts have provided
planet Earth with a multitude of amazing
life forms.
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The Plant Kingdom
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Living on Planet Earth
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